Vorbeck Materials has won the Department of Energy (DOE)’s award for top innovators. The company is one among the three winners of America’s Next Top Energy Innovator Challenge, a competition conducted by DOE.

Vorbeck Materials will participate in the Arpa-E summit to be conducted on February 27, 2012 in Washington, DC. The company, in collaboration with Princeton University and the Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL), is working on the commercialization of next-generation lithium batteries using its graphene technology. This novel development paves the way to enhance battery performance, facilitate rapid charging and develop high-power batteries for consumer electronics and transportation.

High performance batteries engineered by PNNL utilizing Vor-x, the patented graphene technology of Vorbeck Materials, have generated unprecedented energy storage capacities. Batteries integrating graphene technology have demonstrated dramatic increase in recharge rates when compared to existing rechargeable batteries. Smartphones that use these batteries can be charged within 10 minutes and can endure for 24 hours of active utilization. Electric cars powered by these batteries can now have a range of 400 miles after recharged for 10-12 h. The current range of electric cars is 100 miles.

By introducing its graphene-based conductive ink called Vor-ink in 2009, Vorbeck Materials turned out be the world’s first company to commercialize a product based on graphene. The company is working on bringing the graphene-based lithium batteries to the marketplace. It has entered into a partnership with Hardwire to use the novel batteries in hybrid military vehicles. It is also working with several other companies to integrate the unique technology in tools, toys and commercial vehicles.